Monday, December 30, 2013

“A year after Giorgio Vasari had entered the services of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, Bartolomeo Ammannati returned to Florence. He was ordered to carve a fountain for the great hall of the Palazzo Vecchio where the audiences took plane. The fountain was planned for the west wall of the Udienza, across from Bandinelli’s set of statues in niches flanked by columns, and it was to be a pendant consisting of marble and bronze statues as well as columns. The initial plans of a wall fountain for the palace were transformed by Ammannati. Michelangelo’s advice was sought and, finally in his letter of 25th April 1560 to Duke Cosimo, he gave his approva] to Ammannati's ideas underlining the beautiful fantasy of the setting. Ammannati carved a multi-wiewed fountain which included six allegorical, life size figures, two peacocks, and a marble rainbow. The oval-shaped fountain showed Juno suited upon the rainbow and flanked by the peacocks, her attribute, Ceres standing in the centre with the rainbow resting on her head, with Florence and Temperance at her sides analogously standing, and the latter statues were accompanied by reclining figures, the river Arno and the fountain Paruassus. This fountain visualized ‘il generare dell'acqua’ as Raffaello Borghini put it.”

(A note on the chronology of Ammarmati’s Fountain of Juno, Hildegard Utz)

Sunday, December 29, 2013

“On the side of the arch facing the street, the Madonna protects two worshipers, a nobleman and a woman. The coats of arms on the sides of the Madonna belong to the Foscari (a lion) and Mocenigo families (two flowers). On the side facing the bridge, the Madonna protects one worshiper, a friar. Only the coat of arms of the Foscari family is displayed on this side, twice, one on each side of Mary. The origin and date of this arch are controversial. Some historians believe that the Foscari family commissioned the arch to celebrate the marriage of Pellegrina Foscari and Alvise Mocenigo which took place in 1491. This would date the arch as late XV century. However, the arch is clearly Gothic and more in the style of the XIV or early XV century. In addition, the coat of arms of the Foscari family is next to the man and that of the Mocenigo family next to the woman, contradicting the notion that the woman represents a Foscari and the man a Mocenigo. According to the records, the two houses next to the bridge were rebuilt by the abbot of the church of Santa Maria della Pomposa (near Ravenna) and in 1407 passed to the Foscari and Mocenigo families. According to other historians, the arch would commemorate this event. The image of the friar on the bride side seems to confirm this idea. This would date the arch as early XV century. To add just one more sliver of confusion, a plaque near the arch reads: ‘Arte Gotica, s. XIV’”

Saturday, December 28, 2013

“When critics write that Picasso was the most influential artist of the twentieth century, they forget Disney. His influence has operated at a number of levels for eighty years now, and one suspects it is only just beginning. That Disney was an artist is unquestionable, and part of the Modern Movement too, for the influence of Futurism on his early cartooning is obvious. A study of his Alice's Wonderland (1923) is instructive about his voracious artistic appetite and vocabulary. But Disney was a businessman of genius, and in his own way a moral force. Unlike Picasso, he was incapable of cynicism and his sincerity, like Della Robbia's, radiates from every line he drew. His masterpiece Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) is not only a highly inventive piece of animation but the Ur-document of a school which had branched out into over two hundred different systems of animated cartooning by the end of the century. Disney himself trained over a thousand artists, almost as many as the Académie Julian. Cartoons were the basis of most fashion art during the second half of the century and they also had a direct influence on clothes, interior decoration, furniture and architecture. Post-Modernism is part of Cartoon Land.”

Thursday, December 26, 2013

“Used in the nineteenth century for the display of ancient paintings from the collections of museum, the Galleria was later altered to house several very important sculptures by Michelangelo, thus creating a specific and unified itinerary that culminates in the centre of the Tribune where the statue of David stands.
The Galleria takes its name from the four large sculptures showing male nudes known as the Slaves or Prisoners. They were begun by Michelangelo for the tomb of Pope Julius II which was to have been built in the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. Left unutilised, after the death of Michelangelo they were presented to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I, who placed them in the Grotta del Buontalenti in the Boboli Gardens in Florence, where they remained up to 1909.”

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

“The paintings in the collection have been on show in their present home at the Kulturforum since 1998. The design proposals for the Gemäldegalerie’s new building were submitted in an architectural competition in 1986, with the contract awarded to the architects Hilmer & Sattler the following year. With distinctly Prussian austerity of expression, the simple building rises above the sloping piazzetta, while inside its individual galleries are grouped around a light-filled central hall.”

Monday, December 23, 2013

“La vanité mise à nu par ses thuriféraires is another thought-provoking sculpture by Daniel Hourdé, installed just across the road from Désillusion totale, that perfectly represents the stripping of vanity to reveal the fundamentals, the depth beneath this layer of superficial mask. We are vulnerable under it all; usually only the most devoted see this side of us, with the truest standing by us unconditionally. Trust of this kind is hard to come by and if you have earned it, never take it for granted.”

Sunday, December 22, 2013

“Michelangelo died at Rome in 1564. The general design of his tomb, which we are now examining, was by Vasari. The bust of the great master, seen above the central figure, is by Battista Lorenzi, and, if a good likeness, does not show Michelangelo to have been a very handsome man. The figure of architecture - the one on the right - is by Giovanni dall'Opera. The central figure represents Painting and is by Lorenzi ; while the third represents Sculpture and was executed by Cioli.”

Saturday, December 21, 2013

“Across the canal are the natural sciences laboratories of the Ca' Foscari University and beyond, the Santa Marta quarter housing complex. This used to be one of the poorest sections of Venice. The first inhabitants were fishermen that made a meager living off the lagoon and these humble origins are still reflected in the name of their church, San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, Saint Nicholas of the Beggars. On Rio de le Terese, Fondamenta Tron, a few yards away from the church, is the House of the Seven Chimneys (Casa dei Sette Camini) built in the 1700's as a housing project. It underwent a major retrofit in 1995-1996.”

Monday, December 16, 2013

The “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” rock formationWadi Rum (The Valley of the Moon)
Jordan, May 1995

“The cliff currently called the ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ is at the entrance to the Wadi Rum. The new ‘Gate’ to the Wadi Rum protected area is close beside it, and the new Visitors' Centre looks out over it. Just behind this jebel is Jebel Um Ishrin. Most people assume that T.E. Lawrence's book was named after this cliff. In fact the reverse is true, and the name has only become generally accepted locally in the last 10 years or so. If you count the ‘pillars’ carefully, you will only find 6 of them!”

Saturday, December 14, 2013

“Once inside the main entrance of Pitti Palace, one passes through the wide Ammannati courtyard, closed off on three sides by the inner façades of the building and on the fourth by a single storey topped by the Artichoke Fountain (Fontana del Carciofo, 1639-41), the work of Francesco Susini.”

Friday, December 13, 2013

“Palazzo Barbarigo was originally built in the 16th century. Its architecture follows the Renaissance style and consists of three levels: an open loggia which gives access to the canal, a first floor with open loggias, decorated columns and a second floor above this. The modern mosaics, which were added later on, probably covered some of the original windows and obscured the original design. Not much information is available on the early history of Palazzo Barbarigo except that the Murano mosaics were added in 1886. When Palazzo Barbarigo became the headquarters of Pauly & C. – Compagnia Venezia Murano, a leading Venetian company that produced glass art, the company employed master glass workers to decorate the facade of the Renaissance palazzo with complex mosaic designs. They took the idea from the exterior mosaics on the facade of St Mark’s Basilica.”

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

“Conceived as a ‘mathematical ornament’ for the Institute and Museum of the History of Science, the sundial indicates true solar time for the place where it is located. The shadow cast by the glass globe atop the large bronze gnomon indicates the date and time. The hours from 9:00am to 2:00pm are marked out by radial brass lines while the date is indicated by the travertine traversal lines which signal the Sun’s diurnal course for various periods of the year – precisely when the star enters the signs of the Zodiac. The shadow cast by the gnomon changes in length during the course of the days and seasons, and indicates a different time than that of our wristwatches. In respect to true solar time, mean time indicated by our wristwatches has a periodic variation that during the course of a year can exceed a quarter of an hour. Moreover, when it is daylight saving time, during the spring and the summer, the hands of a clock are moved forward one hour. For example, true midday in the month of February would be indicated by the sundial around 12:28 pm while in the month of July it would be indicated around 13:20 pm daylight saving time.”

Sunday, December 8, 2013

“It's easy to pinpoint the problem with Ian Walters's 9ft bronze statue of Nelson Mandela. It's the hands. They're too big. Walters, who died last summer before the work could be cast, has chosen to depict the former South African president mid-speech, hands scything the air to underpin his rhetoric. So while the face may be an acceptable likeness, the oversize, puffy fingers draw too much attention to themselves, over-emphasising the gesture.
As a result, Mandela looks like he is ever so slightly dizzy and reaching out for balance. The effect, unfortunately, is less elder statesman, more unsteady granddad, which is unjust for such an historically important figure. No wonder Charles Saumarez Smith, the former director of the National Gallery, was so scathing when it was announced that Walters would undertake the commission. ‘He [Walters] is not regarded by anyone, even including the supporters of the project, as a sculptor of any public distinction or artistic merit,’ wrote Saumarez Smith.
Sadly, the finished cast of Walters's statue has not proved him wrong: it feels lumpish and clumsy. The best you can say about it is that it's mounted on a surprisingly low plinth. This brings Mandela closer to his viewers - appropriately enough for a figure so indelibly associated with democracy.”

Saturday, December 7, 2013

“It was made in 1930 by the Danish sculptor, Holger Wederkinch, and given as a gift to Paris by the Danish community. Originally, the rider on the horse was supposed to represent Joan of Arc. But the character of the figure was judged to be too emphatic and war-like, contrary to the iconography at that time of this heroine. It was not appreciated by the Paris city council, who issued an unfavorable opinion about it in 1956. To avoid a diplomatic incident, Denmark’s embassy decided to rename the statue ‘La France Renaissante,’ making it simply a decorative statue. The erection of the statue in the Place was authorized later in 1956, and it was inaugurated on that spot in 1958, in the presence of the Danish ambassador.”

“The exterior of the church is infinitely interesting - decorated with niches containing statues of saints commissioned by the various guilds of Florence (along with other carvings and architectural decorations). Fourteen guilds, including the silk workers, bankers, and the blacksmiths are represented. Although the program began during the late middle ages, the sculptures were not begun in earnest until the early fourteenth century. As a result, the entire range of Renaissance sculpture is represented, from the Early - Ghiberti's St. John the Baptist of 1414 (the first life-sized bronze cast in the Renaissance) - to the Late Renaissance - Giambologna's Saint Luke of 1601. All of the original works have been removed for restoration and replaced by copies.”

Thursday, December 5, 2013

“The interior also preserves the historic architecture of the power plant, with massive iron steps leading to an upper platform that was once used to oversee the generators but is now another element in the cinematic scene. You can mount the stair to look down upon the ancient mosaic floor with its hunting scenes, for instance. The vast windows of the former plant allow for natural light to flood the space, and the clouds in the sky seem to be another artwork.”

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

“They also contain one of the most extensive art projects in a New York City public school, with four separate mural projects and sculpture contributed by two additional artists. In addition to these works commissioned specifically for the high school, a bust of Washington Irving by Friedrich Beer was placed in front of the building in 1935.”

Sunday, December 1, 2013

“The name ‘della Vigna’ is derived from a wineyard documented in several 13th century documents concerning the noble Ziani family, who lived in a ‘palatium’ in the near parish of Santa Giustina. Still today, despite later urbanisation, the area is characterised by green space.”